The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is an 890-square-mile (2,300-km²) complex located in the Idaho desert between the towns of Arco and Idaho Falls, at . It was established in 1949 as the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS). In 1975 the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was divided into the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Idaho site was for a short time named ERDA and then subsequently renamed to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in 1977 with the creation of the Department of Energy (DOE) under President Carter. In 1997, the name was changed again to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). On February 1, 2005, Battelle Energy Alliance took over operation of the lab from Bechtel, merged with Argonne West, and is now known as Idaho National Laboratory (INL). At this time the laboratory's clean-up activities were moved to a separate contract, the Idaho Cleanup Project, which is managed by contractor CH2M-WG Idaho. Research activities were consolidated in the newly named Idaho National Laboratory. The lab currently employs about 8,000 people.
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History
First powered town
The original mission of NRTS was the development of nuclear energy during the immediate post-war years. In 1951, one of the most significant events in the 20th century occurred at the NRTS — the first harnessing of atomic energy for generating electric power. This happened at the Experimental Breeder Reactor Number 1 (EBR-1). The site of this event is memorialized as a Registered National Historic Landmark open to the public. On July 17, 1955, reactors at the NRTS made Arco, Idaho, the first town in the world to be powered by atomic energy.
Fatal accident
On January 3, 1961, the first and only fatal nuclear reactor accident in the United States occurred at the NRTS. An experimental reactor called SL-1 (Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1) was destroyed when a control rod was removed incorrectly leading to core meltdown and explosion. All three men working in the reactor were killed. Due to the extensive radioactive isotope contamination, all three had to be buried in lead coffins. The events are the subject of a book published in 2003, Idaho Falls: The untold story of America's first nuclear accident.[1]
Test Area North
In 1949, an area of the fringe of the NRTS property named "Test Area North", or TAN, was developed by the U.S. Air Force and the Atomic Energy Commission to support the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program's attempt to develop a nuclear-powered aircraft. The programs' Heat Transfer Reactor Experiments (HTRE) were conducted here in 1955 by contractor General Electric, and were a series of tests to develop a system of transferring reactor-heated air to a modified General Electric J47 jet engine. The planned aircraft, the Convair X-6, was to be test flown at TAN, and a large hangar with radiation shielding was built on the site. The program was cancelled, however, before the accompanying 15,000 foot runway was built.[2]
Advanced Test Reactor
INL operates the Advanced Test Reactor, a facility used to radiate materials or test new components and fuels. Work at INL has included initial development of nuclear reactor designs, testing experimental reactor designs, developing prototype reactors for ships in the US Navy, and developing technologies to manage nuclear waste. The HTRE test facilities can be seen in the foreground.
 Experimental Breeder Reactor Number 1 in Idaho, the first reactor to provide electricity for public use. |
 SL-1 reactor being removed from the National Reactor Testing Station |
 ATR building grounds in Idaho |
Future
On June 27, 2005 the New York Times reported a reactor at INL would be used to manufacture plutonium-238. This isotope is known for its intense alpha decay, which is useful in making extremely long-lived power sources such as Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)s for space probes and heart pacemaker batteries. INL has 52 reactors, three of which are reportedly still operating (see list of nuclear reactors). The Idaho State Journal reported that the batteries would be used for a voyage to Jupiter's moons and the New Horizons trip to Pluto.[3] In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, $1.25 billion was authorized to design and construct a “Next Generation Power Plant Project” for electricity-hydrogen cogeneration at the Idaho National Laboratory, and possibly at existing reactors, to explore production of hydrogen fuel from nuclear power.
See also
- SAPHIRE Probabilistic Risk Assessment software
- nuclear reactor
- list of nuclear reactors - the NRTS reactors are listed here
- Advanced Test Reactor
- LOFT (LOCA) - Loss of Fluid Tests, conducted at INL
References
- ^ McKeown, William. Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident. ISBN 978-1550225624.
- ^ Abandoned and Little Known Airfields, Test Area North, Monteview, ID
- ^ Friederich, Steven. Argonne Lab is developing battery for NASA missions. Idaho State Journal. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
External links
- Idaho National Laboratory
- Idaho Cleanup Project
- Battelle Web site
- Atomic Heritage Foundation
- U.S. Geological Survey INL Project Office
- Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free
